Automotive News

Toyota is ready to show the world the production iQ at the 2008 Paris Motor Show next month - but it was nice enough to release some images of the minicar today. The new 2009 Toyota iQ will go on...

Next month BMW will show the concept version of the BMW X1 before revealing the production model early next year. According to CAR, BMW is also working on what is known as the X2. The X2 will be a...

For those (that may include many people) that probably can’t afford the $538,286 730-hp BRABUS BULLIT BLACK ARROW, BRABUS has announced a less powerful and cheaper solution for the 2008...

Everyone is still waiting for FoMoCo to take the tarp off its 2010 Ford Mustang, which was recently spotted at some gathering somewhere. From these images you can get a closer look at the headlamps...

Toyota has launched its 2009 Hilux pickup in Europe offering a basic Single Cab workhorse to a Double Cab pick-up. The redesigned muscular SUV styled 2009 Toyota Hilux now comes with a...

Well, we finally got shot of the G-Wiz, all in the name of a good cause...

It's the new Megane, and it's split the TG office opinion in half. Thoughts?

We're gearing up for this weekend's race at Spa, the best track of the year

'Pictures don't do this thing justice. And underneath all that, it's a Golf GTI. There are worse things to have as an alter-ego'

'Pictures don't do this thing justice. And underneath all that, it's a Golf GTI. There are worse things to have as an alter-ego'

Class favorites from Honda and Toyota face the new Subaru.

VW offers a nicer interior, but no Stow ’n Go.

Alfa Romeo cars and American racing legend Mario Andretti were the focus of the 35th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races.

Beautiful cars, high-performance test drives and gourmet food for a select few.

Pebble Beach Concours competitors tour the Monterey Peninsula and Pacific Coast Highway.

Anemic Evo or lecherous Lancer? Either way, it's a great adversary to…

Dodge delivers a Hemi-powered time machine.

The latest GT from Newport Pagnell can run Nurburgrings around the…

Goodbye, Tiptronic; hello PDK transmission and new direct-injected…

A supercharged 5.4-liter V-8 puts one serious burr beneath this…

Car fans worldwide (myself included) have watched in excitement as the Lexus LF-A supercar has grown from concept to prototype. It seemed as if the project was full steam ahead until recently… Rumor now has it that the LF-A project has been cancelled. A number of factors play into this, most importantly the rumored $225,000 sticker price, and the doubt that customers would be willing to drop that kind of dough on a car made by a company renowned for it’s luxurious, yet boring cars. Only time will tell whether anything will come of this rumor.

Rumor has it that Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin are planning a massive collaboration dubbed Project Alligator. The collaboration would include everything from engines to platforms, and would help both brands expand and grow. Major points of Project Alligator could include the use of AMG’s 6.2-liter V8 in the next-gen Vantage, as well as Aston Martin helping to develop up to five new cars for Maybach. Collaborative development of diesels and hybrids for both brands is possible as well.

Sure, there’s a lot of gauge-wagging going on these days, but it could also be used to symbolize that Americans can do something immediately to reduce dependence on foreign oil. Drilling proponents in the Bush administration claim that 1% of our energy needs could be met by 2030 with offshore drilling finds (200,000 bbl. per day by 2030 of the 20 million bbl. used daily in America), but by simply filling tires correctly and getting tune-ups — as suggested by Obama — mileage improves by 3% and 4%, respectively; get everyone on board and there’s a pretty serious decrease…

Pictures have surfaced online of the new Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport. Essentially an open-roof version of the Veyron supercar, the Grand Sport is powered by the same 8 liter W16 that churns out 1,000 hp. The car is expected to be revealed at the upcoming Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance, and will likely command a starting price of over $2,000,000.

A plug-in F-150 hybrid? Andy Grove put forth the goal last week at the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose. Why not convert the existing fleet of big pickup trucks, vans and SUVs to plug-in hybrids? The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies, Inc. (HEVT) team — a start-up out of the Illinois Institute of Technology- has done just that, by shoehorning an electric motor under the F-150’s bed. HEVT hopes to retrofit the existing fleet of F-150s with their innovative bolt-in hybrid system.

"Did he see us?" I screamed to my automotive accomplice, whom I'll call Speed Queen, as I dug into the carbon ceramic brakes and wrestled the new Lamborghini LP560-4 to a standstill. About 100 feet off the car's chiseled bug-green nose, a California Highway Patrol cruiser was attempting to herd the black Lambo Murciélago to the shoulder.

Plunging auto sales, high gas prices and election year politics could help convince Congress to approve a $50 billion loan package to embattled U.S. automakers that Detroit's Big Three claim is key to their future success.

Honda Motor Co. unveiled a pure-hybrid concept car Thursday that hopes to go head to head with Toyota's wildly popular Prius.

The nation's automakers aren't the only companies suffering from higher gas prices and weak vehicle sales. Auto lenders are feeling the squeeze as well.

Falling gasoline prices were not enough to revive sales of SUVs and pickups in August as Ford Motor reported a sharp fall in sales once again.

Well, maybe I exaggerated just a little about 1969 but I still have some of the hottest news there is with regard to satellite radio to be found for sure. A while back I went looking for a truck for the specific purpose of hauling my race car trailer to the Mexico/Guatemala border to compete in the La Carrera Panamericana. Besides a lot of other requirements such as dual cab so four of us could ride comfortably I also wanted a good sound system/radio for obvious reasons. One of the options that popped up was a satellite radio system and since I liked it took it as well. The good news was it…

Every now and then, we do a favour and put up a classified ad here in The Garage, but only if the car in question has enough cool factor. Now I’ve never had what most would call a traditional sense of cool when it comes to cars, but this one is just too hip to pass up. This 1973 Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina belongs to one of the guys in our shop and was passed down through the family. It is somewhat unique in that it did endure more than a few Canadian winters in the past and yet, thanks to some apparently decent rust proofing it didn’t dissolve into the atmosphere like most of…

Following a report from Jalopnik, Autonews reports that GM is trying to unload Hummer-fast. Autonews quotes GM COO Fritz Henderson, during a visit to India, that he hopes for a sale by the end of this year, or early 2009. Claiming that there are several companies interested in Hummer, Henderson declined to mention any by name. This news should hardly come as a surprise. Hummer’s downward spiral in sales has been well documented, and rumors have been flying that GM hoped to unload the brand. I concur with Jalopnik here; why the news broke from India is not quite clear. I am no Hummer…

When I sat down to write this evening, I really had no idea of what the topic was going to be so I had a look around my RSS feeds to find something interesting. What I found was actually more annoying than I had expected, so I thought I should make comment even though it has nothing to do with cars. I’ve noticed lately that TTAC boss, Robert Farago has taken to directing his usual bad boy blah blah blah at fellow bloggers rather than at auto manufacturers. His latest bit of venom is directed towards the folks at Hemmings. So why do I care? Well, the few virtual dealings I’ve had…

Let the spanking begin! If you listen closely you can hear one of the Viper team say, “I see Vultures.” refering to the Vette lap record. Related PostWho's Yer Daddy?Lou Galanos: Greenwood CorvetteViper for Sale?ebay find of the day: 1960 La Dawri Conquest RoadsterYes Virginia, there is a Shelby Corvette...

The graduate: Toyota’s heavy hauler proves it really can play in the big leagues.BY TONY SWANAfter years of taking heat for building full-size trucks that weren’t full size, Toyota finally responded to critics who dismissed the original Tundra as a light heavyweight in a heavyweight game. Not only did the Tundra’s dimensions and power inventory expand, Toyota created a new factory deep in the heart of Texas truck country to handle expectations of demand doubling. Although initial acceptance was slow, Tundra sales eventually ramped up to almost 200,000 last year.Offered in standard,…

Ferrari works on its next super-supercar.BY STEVE SILERTo maintain its standing as the indisputable leader of the go-fast world, Ferrari channels most of its energies into its highly successful F1 racing program, and then pumps out a couple thousandreally fast road cars per year to sustain it. And every few years, Ferrari builds something that more or less blends both worlds together. These are the superstars of supercars with names like F40, F50, Enzo, the track-only FXX, and soon, the car you see (kind of) here: the FX70.Underneath the clever camouflage—seemingly cobbled together from the…

The Miata tweaks appear similar to those made to the 2009 RX-8.BY ALISA PRIDDLEMazda continues to play on the conservative side with the MX-5. The automaker did not stray far when the roadster got its first real redesign for the 2006 model year and our first look at the upcoming face lift shows equal unwillingness to fly very far afield.Keep Reading: Mazda MX-5 Miata Gets A Face Lift - Auto Shows

Will this wild city-car concept go into production as the Mazda 1?BY ALISA PRIDDLEMazda will show a city-car concept, the Kiyora, as a prelude to putting a tiny A-segment car in the marketplace in most parts of the world.Mazda nomenclature suggests it would go into production as the Mazda 1, and there are no expectations it will make it to North America. The Japanese automaker has been reluctant to introduce the larger Mazda 2 here, despite a trend to smaller, more gas-miserly vehicles.The Kiyora, which will make its global debut at the 2008 Paris auto show, is described as a lightweight,…

Honda’s all-new hybrid takes direct aim at the Toyota Prius.BY ALISA PRIDDLEHonda was the first automaker to put a hybrid on the road with the original Insight in December 1999 and it wants to reclaim its place at the big kid’s table with the resurrection of the name on an all-new hybrid.The automaker provides this first official look at the five-door hatch that will be formally unveiled in October at the 2008 Paris auto show. It will technically be a concept, but appears more than production-ready.The Insight rides on an all-new platform as a bespoke hybrid, as opposed to offering a…

By Greg Martin Director, Policy and Washington Communications My apologies for the title. As a Hunter S. Thompson fan, I couldn’t resist the play on words upon my return from the Democratic National Convention. And yes, at times the week took on a level of surrealism that matched one of the gonzo-journalist’s great books. At one point, as the elevator doors to my hotel opened to drop me off at the lobby, I was staring face to face with actor Sean Penn. While I wanted to congratulate him on his adaptaion of Jon Krakauer’s book, “Into the Wild,” the only…

By Anna Kretz Vehicle Line Executive Yesterday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) posted on its web site that the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook have earned its TOP SAFETY PICK award.  While there are many different measures to consider a vehicle’s safety, IIHS may be one of the more recognizable organizations that conduct such testing. As with other vehicle programs, when we began to develop these vehicles, we established high targets for safety and included a comprehensive safety system designed to protect passengers before, during and…

We’ve seen some comments on appearances by GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Vice Chairman Bob Lutz the Charlie Rose’s PBS interview program earlier this week. In case you missed the shows, here’s a chance to download Rick’s and Bob’s interviews. Take a look to get a very interesting perspective and to hear a frank, open dialogue about GM and its place in the global automotive marketplace.

Head over to FYI for a follow-up to Jamie Hresko’s post on “One Million Miles and Counting” and meet Mike Popescu, owner of the Chevy Express 3500 cargo van, for yourself.

By Ed Peper North America Vice President, Chevrolet The Chevrolet Cruze won’t be officially revealed until the Paris Auto Show in October, but when the opportunity arose to give a sneak peek today to the people of Lordstown, Ohio who will be assembling the vehicle, we felt the occasion couldn’t be more perfect. This new global compact car will build on the already successful Chevrolet Cobalt, Cobalt XFE and Cobalt SS – and we’re also proud to be harnessing GM’s global design and engineering expertise. The Cruze was designed and engineered by our global teams in Europe and Asia…

U.S. residents will have to wait until 2010 for the Ford Kuga crossover to make its appearance, but Europeans have already had the car for most of 2008. Now Ford has decided to give the Kuga a range of new premium appearance options and a turbo petrol engine at the Paris Motor Show [...]

Bankruptcy, bailouts, secretive plots to kill electric vehicles - General Motors has been accused of seeking all of these. To help set the record straight, or at least put out the official spin, GM has launched a new ‘Facts or Fiction’ site that aims to torpedo many of the popular misconceptions about the company. Among [...]

Rumors surrounding the uncertain future of General Motors’ Pontiac brand have begun to step up intensity despite a revamped product lineup and a new direction. Claims of a potential brand retirement, more in line with the end of Oldsmobile than with the sale of Hummer, are making the rounds, though support for the position appears [...]

Quitting a well-paying job or taking an early retirement is a hard choice to make during an economic downturn, especially when good credit is so hard to come by, so it makes sense that Ford is having a hard time encouraging workers to take their buyout packages. That doesn’t ease the need to replace longer-term, [...]

With Project Genesis already underway at Chrysler the fat is truly being trimmed in order to turn things around for the ailing car maker. The latest step is an elimination of all ‘twin’ models - cars that look essentially the same, based on the same platform, that target the same buyers, but sold under different [...]

An American in London... and Paris, Stuttgart, Innsbruck, Turin, Le Mans...Nope, your eyes aren't playing tricks. And no, we haven't been fooling around with Photoshop. That really is a Dodge Challenger SRT-8 parked on Waterloo Bridge in London, England, all testosterone and torque and Hemi orange attitude. We're a long way from Motown, Toto... Photo Gallery: Dodge Challenger in Europe - Features - Motor Trend

Brian Tyler has been called a young John Williams, but for the SoCal car enthusiast, writing music for three of "The Fast and the Furious" films was a dream.Quick Stats: Brian Tyler film composerDaily Driver: 2004 Ferrari 360 Modena (Tyler's rating: 10 on a scale of 1 to 10)Other cars in his collection: 2006 Porsche 911 C4S (Rating: 10) 2005 Mercedes CLK 500 (Rating: 9)2007 BMW X5 (Rating: 9)Favorite road trip: Hopefully to NurburgringCar he learned to drive in: 1973 VW BeetleFirst car bought: 1989 Nissan Pathfinder Photo Gallery: Film Composer Brian Tyler - Celebrity Drive - Motor Trend

There can be few readers of these words who are unaware of the exalted place the late Phil Hill occupied in the world of motorsport.There can be few readers of these words who are unaware of the exalted place the late Phil Hill occupied in the world of motorsport. Even the most casual racie fan knows that Hill, Florida-born but Californian by adoption, fought hard to prove that a Yank could cut it in Europe, serving his time in the ranks at Ferrari and becoming the first American to carry off a World Championship, in 1961. At Ferrari, he did not always see eye to eye with the boss, but he was…

Much hue and cry is dispensed over the fact that most American SUV owners never drive off-road, but, really, where are they going to go?Much hue and cry is dispensed over the fact that most American SUV owners never drive off-road, but, really, where are they going to go? Off-roading devotees know how to get dirty (the Rubicon, Moab, designated OHV trails), but the notion of being able to take your all-conquering, all-terrain rig "anywhere" is a fantasy. Try it-say, a spontaneous detour across an untrammeled expanse of river bed-and nine times out of 10 you'll quickly be stopped by a cop, a…

Porsche is advancing in its conversion to direct gas injection.Porsche is advancing in its conversion to direct gas injection. Following the Cayennes last year and 911s recently, the Boxster S and Cayman S also get the system late this autumn. The Cayman S goes from 295 horsepower to 320 horsepower, even though engine size remains 3.4 liters. Torque rises from 251 pound-feet to about 275 pound-feet. Photo Gallery: Porsche Cayman, Boxster to get direct injection - Auto News - Motor Trend

  Each year, EnerGuide announces the most fuel-efficient vehicles in each of its categories. The Toronto Star published a special "Green Wheels" edition today and had me do a mini-review of each of the winners (the Prius is a full review). You can find the page by clicking here; the reviews are found by clicking on the links in the blue sidebar to the right on the page.

On today's Canadian Driver, I have a review of the Mustang Bullitt. You can find it here.

Earlier this summer, I went to Munich on a personal vacation; while I was there, I got a "behind-the-scenes" tour of BMW Welt (World). You can find my story on it by clicking here.

In today's Toronto Star, I have a story on a 1969 Shelby and 1964 Thunderbolt that were at last week's Autofest event in Oshawa, Ontario. You can read about it here. (And yes, I know there was no Mustang II in 1969. I'm ashamed to say it's a typo on my part.)

In the news today: Lexus is coming out with an all-wheel-drive version of its top-line LS 460 model. In his comment on the vehicle, a Lexus spokesman said, "The all-wheel-drive system is designed to ensure excellent traction performance and driving stability for our Lexus guests, regardless of the climate and road conditions." Lexus guests. Okay, here's how it works. When you invite me to your house, tell me to pull up a chair, bring me a drink and maybe offer me some nibbles, I'm a guest. When I walk into a dealership, sign the paperwork, and pull a minimum of eighty…

As expected, Tony Stewart named Darian Grubb as crew chief for his No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet starting with the 2009 season and extended for multiple years. The announcement came during a press conference on Friday at Richmond International Raceway. "Hiring Darian (Grubb) is a key step in the equation to get set up for next year," Stewart said. "I am very confident in him and this is another key step in the equation of getting on our feet for next year and getting everything pointed in the right direction. We have a team ...

In what his team must hope will be the start of a consistent weekend display, Renault's Fernando Alonso posted fast time in second Friday free practice for Sunday's Formula One Belgian Grand Prix. Two-time world driving champion Alonso nailed a lap of 1 minute, 48.451 seconds on the four-mile circuit with three minutes left. Massa followed in 1:48.504. As with most runners, the Spaniard's afternoon time did not improve upon his morning fast lap, a 1:48.104. The four fastest morning-session runners bettered the 1:48 mark. Massa led teammate Kimi Raikkonen by ...

THE ROAD TO RICHES? NASCAR Holdings on Thursday announced an agreement to acquire Grand American Road Racing Association. NASCAR Holdings is a legal entity under which Grand-Am, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and various other subsidiaries have and soon will operate. According to the announcement, the two sanctioning bodies will continue to independently operate race events under their respective direction and there will be no change in the management of either as a byproduct ...

THE ROAD TO RICHES? NASCAR Holdings on Thursday announced an agreement to acquire Grand American Road Racing Association. NASCAR Holdings is a legal entity under which Grand-Am, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and various other subsidiaries have and soon will operate. According to the announcement, the two sanctioning bodies will continue to independently operate race events under their respective direction and there will be no change in the management of either as a byproduct ...

THE ROAD TO RICHES? NASCAR Holdings on Thursday announced an agreement to acquire Grand American Road Racing Association. NASCAR Holdings is a legal entity under which Grand-Am, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and various other subsidiaries have and soon will operate. According to the announcement, the two sanctioning bodies will continue to independently operate race events under their respective direction and there will be no change in the management of either as a byproduct ...

David Moxon subjected 40 men and women to the sounds of a Maserati, Lamborghini and Ferrari, then measured the amount of testosterone in their saliva. He found everyone had higher levels of the stuff -- a measure of their arousal -- after hearing the revving exotics, but the amount the women had was off the charts.

In an industry celebrated for its spectacular failures, the Edsel still takes the cake. Although as mechanically sound as other Ford products, the car was criticized from Day One for being too ugly, too expensive and vastly overhyped.

Our hats are off to you, sir or madam, as you have struck comedic gold with your handicapped vanity plate.

Most of these signs are the creation of local and state governments that seem to lack the time or sophistication to make clear ones. Although these are the 10 most confusing traffic signs we could find, feel free to add photos and descriptions of awful signs you've found in your own travels.

© wreck When I was in high-school the craze was muscle cars. I had friends that would spend countless hours pimping up their cars only to hit the road on friday nights. Ok, I was one of those guys too. Mine was a 360 1971 Javelin. What a car. There were many a times, late at night I could be found streaming down....ops...probably shouldn't tell that story even if the statute of limitations have run out. Anyway, muscle cars are still part of the car-loving public. Just go get a feel for it at What Muscle-Car Madness is All About See full article. Related Entries: Muscle, Pony Cars…

© mandj98 What are your plans for this labor day? Are you going to be hitting the road and putting that ever popular dollar in the gas tank? Have gas prices dropped? What can you expect to pay? Are you even aware that gas prices have dropped in the last couple of weeks? If you're heading through St. Louis you might want to fill up the tank as the price in that city is only $3.295. So where do you get your gas pricing information? Do you even look anymore? Try out gasbuddy.com for your gas-traveling-needs. It is at least interesting even if you've just had enough of the gas-watching…

Way too much time on your hands? Try drawing a car with Microsoft Paint. After watching this video I am insprired to just give it a try myself. How about you? The video last for about 5 minutes but the speed of the frames probably puts it at about 200 gazillian hours. If anything, you might just want to watch to see some of the fine details that are required. Surely there is a better software package to do this with. Awesome to watch! See full article. Related Entries: MS Paint wird aufgebohrt - Paint.NET - 17 Januar 2007 Corel Draw Graphics Suite X3 jetzt fit für Vista - 01 Februar 2007…

This is crazzy, amazzy, and dazzy. Have you picked up on the new craze of street skating? I sure hope not. One of the newest crazes in Saudi and almost unbelieveable. All I know is these kidos have no respect for their lives or the harm it can do to someone along side them. Is this post a promotion? No. I mearly wanted to show this video to bring it to your attention. AND, IF you ever hear of taking part of street skating, STAY CLEAR. It is liable to end up as deadly as ghost-riding. See full article. Related Entries: Do You Like Your Street? - 11 April 2007 Shape up with Inline skating - 14…

How to inflate car tires How to inflate car tires Underinflated tires wear prematurely Underinflated tires can be dangerous Underinflated tires can hurt fuel economy Do you know your tires? Do you know how to put air in your tires? With the push by government to make sure we all do our best to get better gas milege I thought it only fitting to find a video that did just that. For me, having a car and never enough money to buy new tires, I quickly became an expert in filling tires. Go give it a try. It isn't that hard. See full article. Related Entries: Using Fill Flash - 23 May 2006…

"Rappers, man, too many rappers. I should know." Pharrell Williams can see the irony. Here he is, the hip-hopper who is so hip it hurts, discussing how his favourite cars, the Rolls-Royce Phantom and Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, have become too popular - with rappers.

Q As it’s been another monsoon summer and the outlook is still gloomy, what tips do you have for driving on flooded roads?

Ford has such high hopes for its new Fiesta, the company believes it is its “most significant global vehicle product since the Model T” — the first mass-produced affordable car, that set the world in motion in 1908. I wouldn’t go quite so far myself, but you can see why Ford is saying it. With sales of its traditionally large cars and trucks plummeting in its native US and losses mounting, the company is betting the farm on the Fiesta. If you’d tried to sell a car like this in the United States 10 years ago, you’d have been laughed out of the showroom,…

‘The EV is attractive in performance. You will feel this today please.” Reassuring pidgin English from Minoru Shinohara, Nissan’s senior vice-president, as he points through the window of the Oppama test facility, southwest of Tokyo, to where a little zebra-striped guinea pig car awaits me. EV stands for electric vehicle, and this is the latest version of what Nissan says we will be buying in the future. And not the distant future either. It’ll be on sale in 2010.

It’s 5am on a still summer day on the south coast of England and a man on a bicycle is gazing out to sea. Attached to his bicycle are a pair of propellers; above him is a miniature zeppelin.

Donington Park has revealed its plan for redeveloping the circuit and facilities ready to host the 2010 British Grand Prix

Friday's press conference - Belgium

GP2 front-runner Karun Chandhok said he had no choice but to improve his laptime while there were yellow flags being waved at Spa on Friday, or else he would have been forced to start at the back of the grid anyway.

Belgium Friday quotes: McLaren

GP2 Series title contender Bruno Senna admitted to "one of the scariest moments of my life" on his way to narrowing the gap to championship leader Giorgio Pantano at Spa-Francorchamps in qualifying on Friday afternoon.

Subaru will upset die-hard fans at the Paris motor show by unveiling a new diesel-powered Impreza. The oil-burning Impreza will debut alongside a new Forester diesel and a WRC replica car. Does the diesel Subaru Impreza at least get a...

Credit crunch, spiralling oil prices, fragile consumer confidence... It's small wonder that the UK's car market is in turmoil. Figures just out confirm that buyers are shunning dealerships in droves – with the slowest August since 1966. The news is...

Never one to shy away from making a big splash at its home show, Citroen will wheel out the extravagant new Hypnos concept car at the Paris motor show 2008. It's a crossover vehicle showing how Citroen could launch a...

The Honda Insight is back! Honda today unveils the Insight 2, a concept version of its new global hybrid. As extensively scooped by CAR Online, the new Insight is claimed to preview the world's cheapest petrol-electric hybrid car.We'll see the...

The Mazda Kiyora is the latest Nagare ‘flow’ concept, and previews an all-new Mazda city car that could be in production as early as 2010 if public reaction is positive enough. The Kiyora will be revealed at the Paris motor...

Audi remains the most highly rated brand among UK dealers according to the latest RMIF's National Franchised Dealers' Association Summer 2008 Dealer Attitude Survey. Audi remains the most highly rated brand among UK dealers according to the latest RMIF's National Franchised Dealers' Association Summer 2008 Dealer Attitude Survey. The twice yearly research also shows that most dealers are satisfied with the level of control exerted by their manufacturer partners. Sixty per cent said they were content with manufacturer influence, while 70 per cent said they were satisfied with the value, price…

MotorTrader.com has relaunched under a new name and with a host of new features. MotorTrader.com has relaunched under a new name and with a host of new features. The new TalkingMotors.com site sports a bold new look incorporating the latest trends in website design. Navigation has been made clearer with a new menu along the top, while the revamped homepage showcases the very best TalkingMotors.com content. The site also boasts several new channels, including a market research section and a dedicated car news channel featuring the latest launches and reviews of new models. As the new name…

This VW Beetle commercial ran in the early 1970s (1974, I believe) and is one of their most memorable. Filmed in black and white to give it a "period" feel, it features cameos by some lovely old Detroit iron ... and some actors you might recognize. 0:03 -- That's disc jockey and game show host "Wink" Martindale (anyone remember Tic Tac Dough?) pitching the DeSoto. 0:13 -- I'm not sure who the actress in the long skirt is, but she seems familiar. (Swoosie Kurtz, perhaps?) The car is a 1950 "bullet nose" Studebaker; the 1949 Stude convertible was more…

When I first drove the Kia Spectra, I hated it. Hated it. At the time I was getting new test cars every week to evaluate, and most of the cars were expensive, flashy, powerful, luxurious, and alluring. The Spectra had none of these qualities. After the intoxication of sophisticated iron, the gawky four-door Spectra was a huge let-down--like drinking brackish water after developing a taste for fine Chardonnay. Even my wife's aunt, not exactly an automotive snob, said about the Spectra, "But it's a piece of crap!" At the time I agreed. My tester was a gawky and awkward…

UPDATE: Reader Alexander Jason, who makes his living as a forensic photographer, did a little forensics on Mom's photo and improved the image.  The results appear at right.  Thank you, sir! It  was something of a legend in our family's history, from a time before I was born, spoken of in reverent tones of the sort usually reserved for prewar Bugattis and Rolls Royces. It was my mother's first car, a brand new 1947 Frazer Manhattan. The one surviving photo of Mom's Manhattan in the family album reveals that it was painted black and she was quite proud of owning it. My father was…

You remember the Ford Squaremont--er, I mean, Fairmont--don't you? They used to be common as bugs it seemed. Basic mid-sized sedans with squarish styling, mediocre performance, indifferent build quality--typical 1970s domestic cars if ever there were. Car Lust founder Chris Hafner described the Squaremont Fairmont as:just like a contemporary Volvo 240--except without Volvo's incredible safety record, metronomic reliability, or rock-ribbed safety quality. In terms of boxy styling and a wheezing lack of athleticism, on the other hand, the Fairmont and 240 were near-identical twins.You…

The 1959 Plymouth Belvedere you see here was photographed at the Wednesday night "cruise-in" at a local ice cream store. With its low silhouette and large tail fins, the '59 Belvedere is a prime example of Chrysler stylist Virgil Exner's "Forward Look."  This particular car has been lovingly restored. Other than the alloy wheels, its external appearance is just about exactly stock. That's not quite the case under the hood. The engine in this car is a 413-cubic inch "Wedge" V-8 introduced on the 1960 Chrysler 300F, which boasts dual carburetors and…

A few weekends ago NASCAR charged into Bristol, Tennessee and opened it's doors for the final time this season to the world that is NASCAR. Race Week at Bristol (BMS) is not just a normal week not only to the people who work there but to the fans as well. When you attend a race here at Bristol it's not just go check out the race and that's it. There's a whole week of festivities in place for everyone to take part in. The main focus for these events is to bring the family out and everyone enjoy themselves. Race Week at Bristol started on August 18th and went through August 24th.The first event…

It is always interesting to hear different manufacturer representatives talk about their green efforts which are sometimes major advances, occasionally gestures of good intentions and every so often admitting that they would like to jump on the green bandwagon are making changes as fast as their corporate machinery will allow. The economy and the recent erratic fuel prices have hit all of them creating an unpredictable future for all sales and impacting their ability to invest in new and emerging trends and technologies.In the case of Ford, their sales are being hit by an economic downturn…

Today are the trials leading up to this Sunday's Pepsi 500 at the Auto Club Speedway in what I fondly call Fontucky, aka, Fontana, California. Between practice loops, I managed to grab Greg Biffle and talk with him about his loyal fans and if he thinks that they are also loyal Ford owners because of him. He said that he thinks that because NASCAR fans are some of the most loyal fans out there that the ones that cheer him on do tend to be Ford owners.I then asked him what his favorite car to drive and was completely surprised by his answer: he loves to drive his Ford Lightning more than…

I recently received a phone call from an old friend. He's expecting his third child in a about a month and is faced with the need to upgrade his car. For at least the next year, he'll have three kids in boosters or infant seats at the same time and these simply won't fit in his Honda Accord sedan or his old Saturn LW300. In other words, he needs a car capable of seating 6 or 7 people to allow for the width of those infant seats. A few years ago he may have just run out and bought a used SUV or a minivan, but he's concerned about purchase cost, fuel cost, and drivevability. Neither he or his…

There were some pretty nice car sales to benefit charity in this year's Pebble Beach auctions but unlike with the least expensive car donated selling for over $50,000, they are not the run of the mill type of auction. For the rest of us who have cars that we no longer use, need or want, changes in charitable donations have been tightened up quite a bit in the last couple of years and if you are considering donating a car to benefit your favorite non-profit, there are a few things that you may want to consider.If the car being donated is valued at more than $5000 then an appraisal needs to be…

Wild Rose Region remains in the lead during the seventh month of the 2008 Factored Growth Contest with Lone Star taking over the lead in the Actual Growth Contest

The new tires you purchased may be old tires that have been sitting on shelves for years!

On Saturday August 23 and Sunday August 24 the American Le Mans Grand Prix of Mosport will be held at Mosport International Raceway, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

On Friday October 3 and Saturday October 4, the American Le Mans Series race, the 2008 Petit Le Mans will at Road Atlanta.

On Friday October 17 and Saturday October 18 the final American Le Mans Series Race, The Monterey Sports Car Championships will be held at Laguna Seca, Monterey, California.

By Rob Einaudi Editor-in-Chief I bet the owner of this Malibu did. Heck, it's almost ready for paint!

By Jen Dunnaway Editor I'm one of those slackers who doesn't care enough about TV to buy a cable subscription, and for the most part, that works out pretty well. But then there's the ongoing weekly issue of where to watch the race. The NASCAR broadcast spends most of the season bouncing around between channels that I can't get with rabbit ears, but this Saturday, just in time for The Chase, it's coming back to ABC, where it'll stay for the remainder of the season. I'm pretty stoked to be able to host race day at my place for a change! Anyway, here's the news. A new Institute for Highway…

By Rob Einaudi Editor-in-Chief Originally I was thinking of putting the V6 Eclipse against the V6 Mustang, but the V6 Eclipse is priced about the same as the Mustang GT. So even with a picture of a pink Mustang and the sportier Eclipse, the V6 Mustang still dominated this week's showroom showdown by a 2 to 1 margin (and for those of you who think you can stuff the ballot, we can see when someone votes more than once). I thought that "John" summed this one up nicely: I am definitely an import fan but in this case I would go with the Mustang. The V6 mustang has really good bang for…

By Rob Einaudi Editor-in-Chief This week's caption contest features another BMW in duress. As always, here are the rules: Come up with a caption for the picture below by noon PST next Thursday. If you submit the funniest one, we'll send you a great big bag of CarDomain swag. And remember to leave a link to your ride page so we can contact you. Good luck!

By Rob Einaudi Editor-in-Chief This setup from Nismo gets you 11 pounds of weight reduction, and goes a cool $20,795! Get the full scoop at GT-RR.com.

Things kind of come around again after a while, don’t they? From University of North Texas Digital Library. Where they should know a thing or two about gas.

So once Dave let us know he had taken the photos of the shorty Voyager and that he had tossed the photos into the Flickr pool of Tastelessly or Strangely Modified Vehicles, well, there went my afternoon. As with many other aspects of life, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and I certainly treasured some of the photos in the pool, like Hugo90’s photos of the Monte (2, 3) taken at the 2007 Portland, Oregon, Microcar and Minicar Meet. According to Hugo’s captions, the Monte was built in California in the 1960s from an American Ford rear end, a British Ford front…

John Morrison sent along this picture of himself in 1955 clutching two of his favorite toy cars, and I could’ve sworn he somehow rifled through my parents’ family album and found a similar picture of me doing the same. Or of my father doing the same. Or of my brother doing the same. Y’know, I’d bet just about everybody reading this blog has a similar picture tucked away in their family album. But John swears that’s him, clutching a Porsche Speedster. His question, however, deals with the other toy car behind him, the one that kinda looks like it ganked some…

Whattsamatta, you gettin’ bored with all these GM cars and Mopars at the strip? Plug the ennui all by yourself. We’ll show you how, in a trio of photos from Labor Day weekend’s eighth edition of Musclepalooza at Lebanon Valley Dragway. It was a snap to find a trio of American Motors adherents banging heads on the bracket battlefield, and claiming the win column as well. First was this local guy rocking the gearbox in a completely unrestored S/C Rambler, as the rust spot on the roof and the wrinkled quarter panel demonstrate. And this was the car’s good side. Next up is…

The Lost AMC Dealership series has kinda taken a back seat this summer, though we have received several submissions that we just haven’t taken the time to assemble into blog posts yet - our bad. But then Jim Kelly, the editor of Pacific Business News (a newspaper related to Hemmings through our common ownership by American City Business Journals), told us he had scheduled an interview with Bob Reierson, of Motor Supply in Honolulu, one of only five dealerships on Steven Clark’s list of Hawaii AMC dealerships, we told Jim we wanted photos and info, stat. And he delivered, not only…

Sony is the latest portable GPS navigation device manufacturer releasing information on next-generation products due to hit store shelves for the holiday buying season. Garmin announced both the discontinuation of some production and the release of new, feature-packed models due in October. With a shorter lead time, Sony has announced four new models to arrive next week: NV-U44, NV-U74T, NV-U84, and NV-U94T. These new Sony units represent an evolution of the Nav-U line, adding a few minor new features focused on entertainment, such as a photo viewer and stereo Bluetooth. There are now 150…

Honda has released the first official look at its much-anticipated new hybrid model, the Insight. The concept version shown here will make its public debut on October 2nd at the 2008 Paris International Auto Show, and the production version will go on sale in the U.S. next spring. While the original, innovative Insight hybrid was a streamlined two-door hatchback, this namesake model will be a larger five-door hatchback. It draws clear design inspiration from the Toyota Prius and the Honda FCX Clarity fuel-cell vehicle. Rather than a hybrid application to an existing model, like the Civic…

Maybe you’re the person friends and family turn to for advice on cars, or you just love chatting about the great deal you got on your new car. Or perhaps you’ve run into some annoying problems with your car and are wondering if other owners are experiencing the same difficulties with this particular model. If you’ve got something to say about cars, join the conversation in our engaging community forums. Our forums are the place to discuss everything from what’s the best car to buy if you are a taller-than-average person to negotiating the best price on a particular used car. There…

Last week Consumer Reports Senior Automotive Engineer Jake Fisher and I drove the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V over highways and two-lane roads, as well as flogged it at full tilt on a race track. Now, this is a very rare opportunity for us. Automotive media events, called long-leads, consist of the manufacturer flying in journalists from around the country, putting them up in fancy hotels and treating them to a five-star new car introduction. Heck, who wouldn’t go? And, who would jeopardize similar future trips by writing a bad "review" of the car? Of course, we don’t accept those types…

Gas prices decline slightly in most regions from last week, though the national gasoline average is 88.4 cents above the price this time last year.National retail fuel price averages Price Change from last week Regular gasoline/gallon $3.68 .01 Diesel fuel/gallon $4.12 .02 Regional regular gasoline prices Price Change from last week East Coast $3.63 .00   -New England $3.64 .02   -Central Atlantic $3.63 .03   -Lower Atlantic $3.63 .02 Midwest $3.67 .01 Gulf Coast $3.58 .06 Rocky Mountain $3.81 .02 West Coast $3.86 .05   -California $3.91 .05 Source: Energy Information…

We’re updating our 2009 Ka story as we got our hands on a brand new set of photos that include shots of Ford’s mini car in a bright red colour (those...

Mercedes-Benz USA has designed a special edition version of its S550 sedan to help raise funds for Saks Fifth Avenue's KEY TO THE CURE, a women's...

A member of the Dutch ‘Galantfans’ forum came up with this rendering depicting a sporty station wagon version of the new Mitsubishi Lancer (Galant...

Along with the revised 2009 Note mini MPV –see photos and details here- Nissan will also stage the global debut of its all-new mini car, the Pixo at...

At the Automechanika Show in Frankfurt that opened its doors to the public today, Friday, September 16, Volkswagen released a series of aerodynamic...

Thanks to a simple equation of more power and less weight, the Ferrari F430 Scuderia is one of the most amazing performance cars to ever be built. By deleting 220 pounds and adding 27 horsepower, the F430 Scuderia was even able to beat the mighty Enzo around Ferrari’s test track. So with perfection [...]

Leftlane recently had the opportunity to sample the new Hummer H3T and compare it to what General Motors says will be two of its chief rivals: The Toyota Tacoma and the Ford F-150. The H3T represents a new direction for the smallest of the two Hummers currently offered: A useful pickup variant aimed more at [...]

As the Prius has shown for Toyota, there’s something to going green. Because of the thrifty four-door, most people don’t even realize that Toyota produces behemoths like the Sequoia and Land Cruiser. General Motors has picked up on this fact and will soon produce its own green machine, but before the Volt even [...]

There’s no denying that August was a rough month for pretty much every automaker competing in the U.S. market, but there actually were some signs of life if you looked close enough. Although truck and SUV sales were still significantly down from a year ago, sales rebounded a bit from a month earlier. [...]

Alphabet soup isn’t just reserved for the kitchen anymore. With many automakers jumping ship on the traditional name game, more and more vehicles are being named with a few simple letters or numbers. Land Rover is one of the brands to newly embrace this naming scheme, but a production shift could see the [...]

Why the Hell would it? The U.S. “housing crisis” is far from over, credit’s too tight to mention and the consumer shift to more fuel efficient vehicles has left millions of SUV owners backwards/underwater on their loans. Amongst other things. Anyway, the idea that U.S. new vehicles sales have “bottomed-out” is a combination of wishful [...]

Here we go again — the always churning, ever yearning, never learning rumor mill is speculating that Pontiac might be headed for an Oldsmobile style fate (i.e. murdered without dignity). But I remember that when Olds was put down, it had no reason to live. Does Pontiac? And seeing as how my very first car was [...]

When Justin began this, his first week as TTAC's new ME, I warned him that running the site was like playing a slot machine. Posting blogs, editorials and reviews for our best and Brightest is a highly addictive process. In fact, as someone far more dead than I once said, the trick to life is to find something you love to do and not do too much of it." In this I've failed miserably. Oh well, my Lexapro is your gain. Here's hoping the new guy has enough sense to know when to, as Lord Humongous said, "Just walk away." And while I'm throwing quotes around, here's one more. "This wasn't the auto…

USA Today reports that by (could it be? Yes, it is!) 2010, half of GM’s 181 manufacturing sites around the world will be “zero landfill.” In other words, The General’s factories won’t send most their industrial waste to the dump. Instead, GM’s plant trash will be recycled, sold for scrap or incinerated. “Ten GM plants, [...]

Yes, we all hate the alphanumeric nomenclature, snaking over the auto industry like poison ivy. And with only so many letters and numbers, we always expect some repeats (Lexus LS/Lincoln LS, Chrysler 300C/Mercedes C300, BMW X5/Mazda MX-5). Has Hyundai gone a character too far? The car we North Americans know as the Veracruz is being [...]

The Federal Highway Administration has strongly recommended nine tools for decreasing road fatalities. You can find them at the end of this article. Most of these tools are fairly basic and simple to implement. So why aren’t they already universally used? They’re not universally used because they don’t make money for anyone. The government (local, regional, and national) has become more and more greedy. Instead of federal grant money going to the programs below, it goes to holiday ticketing binges, congestion charging, toll roads, red-light cameras and speed cameras —…

By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist Everyone’s jumping on the “save gas” bandwagon — understandably. It’s on everyone’s mind. But that doesn’t mean you ought to mind everything you read. While there’s lots of good advice in circulation, some of it is outdated — or just flat out wrong. For instance: * Regular Tune-ups Will Save You Gas Most new cars — indeed, most cars built during the past decade — do not need regular tune-ups of any sort. Spark plugs last as long as 100,000 miles; ignition systems are largely maintenance-free…

Despite expensive fuel and economic uncertainty, millions of Americans will be hitting the road over the Labor Day holiday. We’ve developed a list of recommendations intended to keep a vacation trip a vacation and not a family disaster story. 1) Take An Extra Key Not many experiences are more frustrating than to be 300 hundred miles from home and to lock yourself out of your car. New automobiles can be a real challenge to enter, even by pros, when they are locked. Placing or hiding a key somewhere on the exterior of the vehicle will turn a potential nightmare into a minor inconvenience.

The 4th Amendment has been weakened significantly over the years in an effort to allow the use of roadblocks as a law enforcement tool. Fortunately, you still have rights should you choose to exercise them. When citizens are faced with roadblocks, they may politely refuse to answer any of the officer’s questions. To make this more easy to do, you can follow this script to assert your rights*: I refuse to talk to you until I consult with my attorney. I also refuse to consent to any search of these premises or any other premises under my control, or in which I have a possessory,…

There’s an interesting article over at The Wilson Quarterly about a traffic engineer with some unique, counterintuitive ideas on how to make driving more safe and enjoyable. Here’s an excerpt: In the last few years, however, one traffic engineer did achieve a measure of global celebrity, known, if not exactly by name, then by his ideas. His name was Hans Monderman. The idea that made Monderman, who died of cancer in January at the age of 62, most famous is that traditional traffic safety ­infra­structure—­warning signs, traffic lights, metal railings, curbs, painted lines,…